Today started with a powerful, inspiring Keynote from Ruha Benjamin who describes herself as a sociologist of science|tech|medicine|race|gender. One of the big things I have been internally grappling with this week is the technology inequity that current exists between students of different groups including socio-economic status, race, and gender. It was incredibly powerful to hear a Keynote that passionately articulated my Like Benjamin shared in her Keynote, it is more than just access. It is the coding in the system that has currently put students of minority backgrounds at a severe disadvantage. Benjamin calls for educators to grow students filled with empathy and love for humankind. It would be impossible to capture just how truly powerful this Keynote was, so I will make sure I post it here when ISTE releases the recording. Meanwhile, here is a link to a Twitter story that was created by a fellow ISTE participant. I have also included a TEDx talk from Benjamin below that discusses some similar topics.

I then had my first encounter with not getting into a session. I wanted to attend the session titled Fear the Sitting Dead: Bringing PD Back to Life. This is where the social media and networking came in handy. While attending a session on teaching online courses, I also followed #sitdeadiste2016 to see what was going on in the other room. I also used the digital backpack on the ISTE website to find the presentation for a third session that I was interested in at the same time. I was able to add all of the links to my session notes here. Additionally, I was able to connect to a new friend who was able to attend the session. She graciously allowed me to take pictures of her notes so I could get the main point from the session.

​After a delicious lunch with a friend and coworker, I went to a session with John Ohler, which focused on future trends in technology and how they will impact the field of education. In this session, I thought about how the field of education will likely change in the next 5 years and the ethical ramifications of these advances.

​​This continued the theme from the Keynote about how important it is to design new innovations in a way that is thoughtful and remains conscious of potential unintended consequences. This is echoed in a video I found with Ruha Benjamin, focused on explaining her line of work in 60 seconds. In case you haven't noticed it by now, I have become a huge fan of her work. I finder her and Dr. Chris Emdin to be refreshing thought leaders that have placed equity in education at the forefront of their work. We need more and more people like this contributing to the discussion about education.

How has your ISTE experience been? What resonated with you about Benjamin's Keynote? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!